Terps Set for Non-Conference Action

Maryland Athletics

2-6-2014

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - After a strong showing against Penn, the Maryland women’s tennis team will face two more non-conference opponents this weekend. The Terps will travel to Norfolk to face Old Dominion on Friday at 11 a.m., before coming home to take on St John’s Sunday at 10 a.m.

The Terrapins recorded their second straight 3-0 start to a season under head coach Daria Panova with a 4-2 victory at Penn. Doubles pairs Alex Stanova and Olivia Gaudreault, and Nataliya and Olga Bredikhina secured the doubles point for the Terps. The Bredikhina sisters and Gaudreault then dominated the lower portion of the singles lineup, sealing the match for Maryland.

Freshman Kristina Hovsepyan and senior Welma Luus occupy the top of the Terps’ singles lineup and both will look to rebound from losses this weekend. The duo also combines to form the Terps No. 1 doubles team.

Stanova and sophomore Olga Gaistruk have also provided the Terps with important singles victories this season.

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For live updates on this weekend's action and to catch up on everything related to Maryland tennis, follow the team on Twitter @TerpTennis.

The Terps' home matches are held at the off-campus Tennis Center at College Park. Directions to the venue can be found here.

Old Dominion comes into Friday's contest with a 3-1 record. The Monarchs defeated Howard, Norfolk St and Penn before losing to Georgia Tech. Nikol Hristova leads the line for the Monarchs in singles and combines with No. 2 player Ingrid Vojcinakova to form ODU's top doubles pair.

The Red Storm will enter Sunday's contest after playing Georgetown in Washington DC on Friday. St. John's won their previous match again Fairfield, 5-2. Khrystyna Pavlyuk occupied the No. 1 position in the first two matches. The transfer from Mississippi St is 1-1 this season.

1 – The number of individual titles the Terps took home as a team in the fall. Olga Bredikhina defeated Princeton’s Caroline Joyce, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, to take the Flight B singles title at the Cissie Leary Invite in Philadelphia.

2 – Daria Panova’s years as Maryland’s head coach. A standout player at Oregon as a a collegian, Panova steadied the ship in her first season in College Park, providing a clear and consistent demeanor for her young team. The Russia native also made history in her opening campaign, helping the Terps to only their second win over ACC rival Duke since 1998. The Terps took down the No. 11 Blue Devils, 4-3, in a thrilling late season match.

4 – The number of newcomers the Terp roster contains this season. Freshmen Kristina Hovsepyan, Olivia Gaudreault, Alexandra Stanova and Cassandre Thebault added a new energy to Panova’s outfit in the fall. The young Terps will be relied to perform in important matches come the spring season, especially during the ACC slate.

9 – Points that Welma Luus notched for the Maryland field hockey team during the fall. The South Africa native played both sports for the Terps in the fall and was a spark off the bench for a squad that reached the final four. Luus missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, but provided the Terps with valuable leadership as a volunteer assistant coach.

Generally regarded as one of the best tennis conferences in the country, the ACC is once again stacked with top opponents for the Terps. The conference contains seven squads ranked in top-25 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s rankings.